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Thursday, May 28, 2015

Meet Paul and Issaye. Eight years ago, Paul was forced to marry Issaye by his family even though he didn’t want to. A few years later it became apparent that the two of them couldn’t conceive a child. In this culture, children are a big deal and not being able to conceive is an even bigger deal. Both Paul and Issaye faced pressure from their families to divorce and remarry, or in Paul’s case to take additional wives to add children to the family. At some point in Paul’s life, he said that a Catholic priest told him that despite their problems, he should love his wife, never divorce, and never take additional wives. Paul says they continued trying various “traditional” methods to cure sterility, but none of those worked. About 3 years ago Paul met Chuck. Through Chuck’s counsel and guidance,

Paul decided to renounce the local traditions and magic and to make a public statement that he was trusting God to provide him with a child. There were plans to take Paul and Issaye to Kijabe hospital in Kenya to explore the medical cause of this problem, but a week before that trip was scheduled Paul told us that Issaye was late for her monthly cycle. The next day she took a pregnancy test which read positive.

On April 24, Issaye gave birth to Joseph Malis, strong and healthy. They chose the name “Joseph”
after Paul and I listened to Genesis in the car. He heard about Rachel’s inability to deliver, and when God finally gave her a child they called him Joseph. The word “Malis” is typically used for “I’m sorry” but it really means “There is nothing bad.” Paul chose that name to say that their bad condition has finally ended. Will you pray that Joseph grows up to be a healthy man who loves Jesus, and that he can have many brothers and sisters?